Thread: Rosewood neck?

Originally Posted by mongrel

Anyone used Indian rosewood as an electric neck & fretboard? Pro's cons?

Its lovely to work with, smells nice and is favoured by PRS.

Haven't yet competed my rosewood neck so I'm not sure of its properties other than those listed

it is well regarded as it is very stiff and dense - makes for great tone
fender made a telecaster in the 70's of solid rosewood

the down side is it is very heavy and can make the guitar a nose diver unless you have a heavy body to balance it. by extension you will need a strong young player to carry such heavy guitar fro a nights playing

the tele headstock is ideal as it is quite small

Cost might be a bit higher than other woods although Honduras Mahogany is getting pricey and now subject to CITES restrictions.

Originally Posted by old_picker

it is well regarded as it is very stiff and dense - makes for great tone
fender made a telecaster in the 70's of solid rosewood

the down side is it is very heavy and can make the guitar a nose diver unless you have a heavy body to balance it. by extension you will need a strong young player to carry such heavy guitar fro a nights playing

the tele headstock is ideal as it is quite small

H/B Mahogany is 30-37lb/ft
African Mahog is 35-39lb/ft
Rock maple is 41-43lb/ft
Flame maple is 43-46lb/ft
Birdseye is denser at 45-48lb/ft
Indian Rosewood is 45-52lb/ft
Wenge is 61-66lb/ft
African Ebony 73-77lb/ft

In the scheme of things, Rosewood isnt heavy as a neck material. Ive never experienced neck heaviness from a well designed rosewood necked guitar. Recently i got a bunch of IR that was lighter than plain old maple. An "average" all rosewood neck is is often lighter than an "average" maple neck with ebony fretboard.

Nearly everyone that checks out the rosewood necks ive made mention the weight, then i hand them a guitar. For some reason they assume its heavier than it is. Maybe because of the colour?

Its a pain to work with. Its harder to shape. The bluntens tools quickly. The dust causes skin problems for some people. The dust is finer, and gets everywhere. Lacquers dont bond as well due to the oily nature of the timber. A lot of the timber is unsuitable due to grain run out. Its expensive.

Originally Posted by rhoads56

H/B Mahogany is 30-37lb/ft
Its a pain to work with. Its harder to shape. The bluntens tools quickly. The dust causes skin problems for some people. The dust is finer, and gets everywhere. Lacquers dont bond as well due to the oily nature of the timber. A lot of the timber is unsuitable due to grain run out. Its expensive.

I found so far that it routes fairly nicely (i was expecting worse though) and leaves a smoother finish when routing compared to other timbers. I heard it was a pain to shape too, guess it's true. Pretty stuff though.

Do you have any tips to prepare before finishing (rub down with alcohol?)

i want to do a tele with a 1pc wenge neck, where weight could be an issue. rosewood seems to be a good choice after fonsidering the bad points from above. i believe it may give a warmer tone from what ive heard (and rosewood fretboards are mellow anyway)

Originally Posted by rhoads56

H/B Mahogany is 30-37lb/ft
African Mahog is 35-39lb/ft
Rock maple is 41-43lb/ft
Flame maple is 43-46lb/ft
Birdseye is denser at 45-48lb/ft
Indian Rosewood is 45-52lb/ft
Wenge is 61-66lb/ft
African Ebony 73-77lb/ft

In the scheme of things, Rosewood isnt heavy as a neck material. Ive never experienced neck heaviness from a well designed rosewood necked guitar. Recently i got a bunch of IR that was lighter than plain old maple. An "average" all rosewood neck is is often lighter than an "average" maple neck with ebony fretboard.

Nearly everyone that checks out the rosewood necks ive made mention the weight, then i hand them a guitar. For some reason they assume its heavier than it is. Maybe because of the colour?

Its a pain to work with. Its harder to shape. The bluntens tools quickly. The dust causes skin problems for some people. The dust is finer, and gets everywhere. Lacquers dont bond as well due to the oily nature of the timber. A lot of the timber is unsuitable due to grain run out. Its expensive.

I have read rosewood necks can be left without a finish is that so??
that would be a plus for me - i have only used it for fingerboards..
i do get asthma and wonder if it would be set off by rosewood dust
mdf and some other woods really get me going

MDF yanks my crank in the dust department.
I have read that "leaching" rosewood with acetone prior to glueing and finishing is the way to go. The particular neck I am considering is going to be quite thin, almost Wizard II thin, but a bit rounder with a minimalist 3-a-side head and a LP body so it should be OK. 24 3/4 scale. I dont think it should nose dive, it will have a full mahogany body though I think I will thin the body down a bit to reduce the weight.
I have heard that "raw" ie unfinished rosewood gets sticky quickly. Hearsay and grapevine, thou. My 12 string dreadnought with Indian Rosewood neck is quite nicely balanced and not heavy. Im not quite game enough to strip the neck down and leave it bare thou
I have an Ibanez Blazer from the '70's with a raw maple neck and it was one of my favourite rhythm guitars. But you go to play lead on it and it chokes up (or I should say I choke up) above the 12th fret. As soon as I flatten my thum out to single out the higher strings it starts to stick and jib. It is currently in pieces as it needs a refret and new bridge and pickup.
Here is a pic anyway.
This was painted in '89 by my mate Jamie. This is what happens when you have too much time together with not much to do. I did a quite a bit of work on it and considering the tools I had it still plays today.

that guitar looks great

Originally Posted by RGM

I found so far that it routes fairly nicely (i was expecting worse though) and leaves a smoother finish when routing compared to other timbers. I heard it was a pain to shape too, guess it's true. Pretty stuff though.

Do you have any tips to prepare before finishing (rub down with alcohol?)

Yeah, it can burn with anything but new router bits, and will blunten them faster than maple for example, but it routs cleanly, with little tear out.

I use more thinners in the first coat, which means the lacquer absorbs into the timber further. Same rule for nitro or two packs.

Originally Posted by old_picker

I have read rosewood necks can be left without a finish is that so??

Ive never built a rosewood neck WITH any lacquer on it except on the headstock. I prefer the look of the headstock being lacquered, seals the logo, stops moisture absorption into the end grain.
Go measure a tin of lacquer. Remember that it adds weight. Rosewood without lacquer versus maple and ebony with lacquer

Here is one im working on at the moment. Will be assembled in the next couple days for a friday pickup, with a rosewood neck'd maple burl bodied DC due the week after (will get pics tomorrow maybe).

Nice guitar,

I like how you have done the neck-body join. The grain and tones matches beautifully between the neck and body. What finish is the body going to have?

Peter

Satin lacquer, with the grain showing on the surface. Last coat went on yesterday. Gloss headstock face (back of headstock satin), which went on today. Should have it assembled by friday, then straight to the recording studio saturday morning

Originally Posted by rhoads56

Lacquers dont bond as well due to the oily nature of the timber. A lot of the timber is unsuitable due to grain run out. Its expensive.

Try filling rosewood with an epoxy finishing resin before putting on the finish. I use Z-poxy under shellac on my IRW bodied acoustics. You could even try sealing with shellac before putting on the laquer.

Originally Posted by mongrel

Anyone used Indian rosewood as an electric neck & fretboard? Pro's cons?

Rosewood used alot on acoustic fretboards. Pros....less prone to chipping out when doing a refret job.